Huscarl

A huscarl, in Anglo-Saxon society, was a class of household troops and bodyguards which would protect nobles and kings. King Canute's conquest of England in 1016 led to the introduction of huscarls to England from Scandinavia, and the huscarls were the most loyal soldiers of any Anglo-Saxon army. In 1066, they protected King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings against William the Conqueror, and the huscarls disappeared from society after the Norman Conquest.